Clare trounce Laois
LAOIS 1-11 CLARE 3-15
Former Clare half back Anthony Daly began his inter county managerial career with a handsome win at Portlaoise, as his charges ran up a score of 3-15 to Laois’ 1-11 in Division 1A.
In front of a poor attendance estimated at between 400-500, the visitors were soon into their stride hitting five points from play to a sole reply from Laois’ David Cuddy inside the first quarter of an hour.
It took twenty seconds before corner forward David Forde opened his account. He doubled his tally five minutes later before Niall Gilligan and Colin Lynch also got in on the act. Forde hit over his third of five points in the opening period on eleven minutes before Gilligan hit home a 13th minute penalty after Frank Lohan had been hauled over in the Laois area.
Former All-star corner back Lohan was playing in the unorthodox role of full forward but managed to find the Laois net off the ground from 15 metres out on 24 minutes.
Laois half forward Liam Tynan goaled shortly before the break to give his side some hope, with Cuddy hitting their fifth point on 28 minutes, to leave them 1-05 to 2-10 behind at half time.
Clare hit three points in three minutes after the restart to move further clear of their hosts, and Lohan hit the Laois net past Kevin Galvin again on 46 minutes to put thirteen points between the sides.
Laois to their credit closed the gap through scores from Cuddy and Seamus Fitzgerald, but it was evident that last season’s captain Paul Cuddy and Joe Phelan, who are both abroad, were missed at vital stages.
